All North Devon Food Waste Goes To AD

North Devon Council has announced that none of the food waste it collects will be sent to landfill, with all the food now going to an anaerobic digestion (AD) plant instead.

The North Devon Gazette revealed that the council’s lorries now collect between 54 and 60 tonnes of food waste every week from households in the area, with this all being sent to an AD plant in Holsworthy where it’s converted to fertiliser and electricity.

Rodney Cann, executive member for waste and recycling, told the news provider that it’s sad so much food is going to waste, but added: “The good news is it’s no longer going to landfill.”

However, the newspaper revealed that a council study has found that 30 per cent of the contents of black bins across the county is food waste, with over 40 per cent of all waste being thrown into black bins actually suitable for recycling.

Councillor Andrea Davis said: “There’s a huge amount of food waste going into black bins and if we all made a bit more effort we could make a difference.”

This comes as Renewable Energy Magazine reported that Biogest had finished construction on its Gas2Grid AD plant in Willand, Devon. The publication noted that this particular facility can take grass silage and fresh-cut grass, among other feedstock.

The biomethane produced by this plant is suitable to be injected directly into the natural gas grid.

If you’re working on the construction of an AD plant, you need to ensure you have the highest quality vacuum relief valves for your project, as well as other top quality equipment and parts.